| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 5,000–7,000 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, and other states | |
| Languages | |
| Iraqi Arabic, Persian, Mandaic, American English | |
| Religion | |
| Mandaeism |
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| Mandaeism |
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Mandaeans in the United States refers to people born in or residing in the United States of Mandaean origin or those considered to be ethnic Mandaeans.
Mandaean immigration to the United States has been occurring for decades. Abdul Jabbar Abdullah, Nasser Sobbi, and Lamia Abbas Amara were some prominent Mandaeans who immigrated to the United States during the mid-20th century. [6]
Surges in Mandaean immigration happened following the Iran–Iraq War, Gulf War, 2003 invasion of Iraq, and 2006 bombing of the al-Askari Mosque. [7] The Iraq War destabilized the country, causing Mandaeans to be targeted by Islamic extremists. [8] [4] In 2007, The New York Times ran an op-ed piece in which Swarthmore College professor Nathaniel Deutsch called for the George W. Bush administration to take immediate action to preserve the Mandaean community and culture. [9] The same year, Iraqi Mandaeans were given refugee status by the US State Department. Since then, more than 2,500 have entered the U.S. [10] [11]
The Mandaean community in Worcester, Massachusetts, is believed to be the largest in the United States and the second-largest community outside the Middle East. [2] About 2,600 Mandaeans from Iran have been settled in Texas since the Iraq War. [12]
In the United States, the largest populations of Mandaeans are in Texas and Massachusetts, with additional mid-sized communities in California and Michigan. There are Mandaean communities centered in:
Mandaeans, also known as Mandaean Sabians or simply as Sabians, are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They may have been among the earliest religious groups to practice baptism, as well as among the earliest adherents of Gnosticism, a belief system of which they are the last surviving representatives today. The Mandaeans were originally native speakers of Mandaic, an Eastern Aramaic language, before they nearly all switched to Mesopotamian Arabic or Persian as their main language.
Qal'at Saleh District is a district of the Maysan Governorate, Iraq.
The Haran Gawaita also known as the Scroll of Great Revelation, is a Mandaean text which recounts the history of the Mandaeans as Nasoraeans from Jerusalem and their arrival in a region described as "Inner Harran which is called the mountains of Madday", which some scholars have identified with Media. The Haran Gawaita continues the historical narrative of the Mandaean Book of Kings, adding a new eighth age to the seven described in that work.
Abdul Jabbar Abdullah Sam was an Iraqi wave theory physicist, dynamical meteorologist, and President Emeritus of the University of Baghdad. Abdullah obtained a doctorate in meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1946 before returning to Iraq to become an educator and researcher. After several years as the President of the University of Baghdad, Abdullah left Iraq amid a period of social unrest, and lived in the United States for the remainder of his life.
Lamia Abbas Amara, also sometimes spelled Lamea Abbas Amara; 1929 – 18 June 2021) was an Iraqi poet. She was a pioneer of modern Arabic poetry and an important figure in contemporary poetry in Iraq.
The Mandaean Council of Ahvaz is the main organization of the Mandaean religion and the primary authority of the Mandaean ethnic community in Ahvaz, Iran.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Ganzibra Dakhil Aidan was the Iraqi patriarch and international head of the Mandaean religion from 1917, until his death in 1964. The mandi in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia is named in his honor.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Ganzibra Jabbar Choheili was an Iranian Mandaean priest, the head of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz, which presides over the Mandaean community of Iran.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley is a Norwegian-American religious studies scholar and historian of religion known for her work on Mandaeism and Gnosticism. She was a former Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College. She is known for translating the Scroll of Exalted Kingship and other Mandaean texts, as well as for her various books on the Mandaean religion and people. Her interests include Mandaean genealogy and anthropology.
Mandaean Australians are Australians of Mandaean descent or Mandaeans who have Australian citizenship.
A Mandaean priest or Rabbi refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism.
Rishama Salah Choheili is an Iranian Mandaean priest in Australia. He is the head priest of Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia, as well as Wallacia Mandi in Wallacia, New South Wales.
Ganzibra Negm bar Zahroon was a Mandaean priest. He is primarily known as E. S. Drower's main field consultant who helped her procure dozens of Mandaic texts, now kept in the Bodleian Library's Drower Collection.
Šganda Salem Choheili (Persian: سالم چحیلی; born 1935 in Ahvaz, Iran} is an Iranian Mandaean scribe, teacher, and author. He is also a shganda and yalufa and is one of the leaders of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz. Salem Choheili is a fully fluent speaker of Neo-Mandaic.
Nasser Sobbi was an Iranian-American Mandaean scribe, manuscript collector, and goldsmith who was known as one of the last remaining fully fluent native speakers of Neo-Mandaic in the United States. He was a yalufa, though not a formally ordained Mandaean priest.
Sheikh (Rabbi) Abdullah bar Sam was an Iraqi Mandaean priest. He is known as the priestly initiator of Jabbar Choheili and Salah Choheili, as well as the father of physicist Abdul Jabbar Abdullah.
Sinan Abdul Jabbar Abdullah is a Mandaean-American dentist and community leader. He and his twin brother Haithem are known as the first American-born Mandaeans.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mandaeism.
Dakhil A. Shooshtary was an Iranian-American Mandaean writer, lexicographer, and calendar maker. As one of the last remaining fully fluent native speakers of Neo-Mandaic, he is known for his Mandaic dictionaries.
